As Guerra was freed from Lerouge's grasp, he bled all over the sand in the arena. As he was about to pass out, he instantly used HSR to heal his jugular and the wound in his stomach, saving himself.
Lerouge continued to admire Guerra's bold and smart decisions.
"You continue to impress me. No wonder you're hailed as an Emperor around here, but it will only be a matter of time before we take you down."
Lerouge gave his Zanpakutō a swing in the air, and its force was enough to send Guerra flying into the reishi-made barrier, hitting his back on it, three meters in the air.
He fell to the ground, crouched up.
As he cleared his head, he looked up to determine Lerouge's position, only to see his foot right in his face, hitting him with a dropkick. Guerra's head hit the reishi barrier again, making his face bleed.
Lerouge began to pummel him with his fists while Guerra sat on the ground trying to defend himself. Guerra landed an uppercut to Lerouge's face with his left hand, but afterwards, Lerouge broke the arm that landed the hit by twisting it. He began to kick and knee Guerra's face.
He thought to himself:
"I can't use HSR to—" (gets kneed) "Nghhhh... to-to heal my face... I can't focus...."
As hope seemed bleak for Guerra, suddenly someone wearing a black kimono, hollow mask, and a furry cape slashed Lerouge's upper back, forcing him to stop hitting Guerra.
Guerra looked at the man.
"Wait... Is that... Ashido?!"
Lerouge turned to his back only to see Ashido four meters away from him, his sword dripping with blood.
Despite the deep wound, Lerouge continued to act nonchalantly and spoke up.
"You must be the feared Ashido among these Forests. What a pain. I also have to deal with you. What annoys me more is that people claim you're as strong as a Vasto Lorde. I just want to end this fight without spending a lot of reiatsu...."
Ashido remained silent and just stood there.
Guerra used this opportunity to activate HSR. He was able to heal his left arm and part of his face, but Lerouge punched him in the face, breaking the entire reishi barrier set up in the arena in the process.
The audience of hollows began to run toward the exit, creating a stampede.
"It's Ashido!!!"
"RUN!"
Ashido readied his blade and rushed toward Lerouge. He easily countered Ashido's blade and kicked him away. Guerra threw a punch at Lerouge's liver, causing him to grunt in pain.
"ArkghhhHh... You..."
Lerouge sliced off Guerra's left leg and kicked him toward Ashido, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. They stood up together.
Ashido spoke proudly, yet nonchalantly, to Guerra.
"Well! You've certainly made a name for yourself, Emperor," he said jokingly.
Guerra responded, a little touched.
"Well... yeah... Anyway, what are you doing here?"
Ashido replied.
"I sensed some strong spiritual pressure nearby. Thought I'd take a look."
Guerra responded.
"You're just in time to help me take down this damn dude."
Both Ashido and Guerra disappeared instantly.
They rushed at Lerouge from both sides—Guerra on the right, Ashido on the left.
Lerouge attempted to slice Guerra with his Zanpakutō, but Guerra dodged and uppercutted him, dazing him. Ashido went in for a slash at the neck, but Lerouge blocked his Zanpakutō with his left forearm, causing only minor bleeding due to his tough Hierro.
Guerra threw consecutive punches while Ashido slashed at high speed. Lerouge kept parrying all incoming attacks with some difficulty.
Frustrated that their hits weren't landing, both Guerra and Ashido increased their attack speed, forcing Lerouge to dodge at high speed until he decided to slice off both of Guerra's arms, slash Ashido's chest, and kick him away, leaving Guerra alone.
Lerouge cracked his knuckles and said to Guerra,
"This is for that liver shot."
He struck Guerra in the liver, causing him to collapse and kneel before Lerouge. Lerouge unsheathed his Zanpakutō and bashed Guerra with the pommel, cracking open his head and causing severe bleeding. Guerra panted, tired and bleeding everywhere. Lerouge grabbed Guerra's head and started forcing it open, causing even more bleeding. Guerra couldn't fight back, as he was armless and couldn't use HSR effectively, but his arms were slowly growing back.
Ashido took out his shield and charged at Lerouge, but Lerouge swiftly countered with a strong Bala. Ashido blocked it but was sent backward by the force. It bought Guerra enough time to form a Cero on his tusks and fire it at Lerouge's face. Lerouge blocked it with his arms and was sent flying backward, sustaining burns.
Lerouge stood up, dusted off the sand on his shirt, and revealed frustration on his face—his cold, stoic personality shattered.
"Damn bastard..." (looks at Ashido) "Why are you only attacking me?! He's also a Hollow! Kill him too!"
Ashido lowered his shield and spoke.
"He's a friend of mine. We made a deal back then."
Guerra used HSR to heal back his wounds.
As the fight became more tedious, Lerouge decided to focus on Ashido, who could not regenerate and was already weakened by the wound in his chest.
He charged at Ashido and unsheathed his sword, ready to attack. Lerouge swung, but Ashido blocked with his large shield. It sent Ashido backward, but he maintained balance.
Guerra, now fully healed, swept Lerouge's legs, causing him to fall into the sand.
Lerouge smacked his fist into the sand in frustration. He quickly stood up and touched his sword.
"Redeem! Oso!"
Lerouge's Zanpakutō disappeared, and an explosion of reiatsu erupted in the arena.
The sand settled, revealing Lerouge in a bear-like humanoid form. He had fur on his back, the paws and claws of a bear, sharp long fangs, and arm braces. Despite the battle injuries, he managed to attain the form.
"You are all insignificant compared to me! You cannot fathom my strength! BEHOLD! You are in the presence of Death Incarnate!"
Guerra worried for his life but couldn't help but think his words were a bit corny.
Lerouge turned to Ashido and slashed the air with his claws, forming a massive reiatsu claw mark. Ashido tried to block with his shield, but the attack broke through. He barely dodged it in time.
Lerouge fired a Gran Rey Cero at Ashido. Ashido raised his sword to block, but was overpowered and sent flying, suffering severe burns.
Guerra picked up the Asauchi that Ashido dropped.
He thought to himself:
"My attacks can't seem to do much to him. I gotta try something else. Not really good with a katana, but I don't have a choice. I gotta learn fast or we're doomed."
He gripped the sword tightly with both hands, then used Sonido to vanish in a flash and attacked from behind, slashing Lerouge's back—only to be blocked, though it broke Lerouge's bracers.
"You're pretty good with a sword… yet somehow so bad at it," Lerouge taunted.
Lerouge slashed Guerra across the chest, grabbed his neck, and dragged him through the sand at high speed while scratching his face. Guerra blocked decently despite his lack of experience. Ashido jumped in and dropkicked Lerouge.
Lerouge tumbled on the ground and stood up. Ashido immediately charged and began strangling Lerouge with all his strength. Guerra appeared behind and slashed Lerouge's back with the sword.
In a panic, Lerouge impaled Ashido's stomach with his claws and threw him to the ground.
Guerra screamed in worry.
"ASHIDO!"
Lerouge turned and uppercutted Guerra by the jaw, followed by a left hook to the cheek. He went for a heavy punch, but Guerra caught his wrist—Lerouge's eyes widened in fear.